New Mediator in Somalia Carries Hope of Moving Peace Process Forward.

ELDORET,KENYA JAN 21 2003 -Somalia's neighbors are hoping that the appointment of a new mediator to the Somali peace talks will inject new momentum into the process.

The appointment of former ambassador Bethwell Kiplagat as Kenya's special envoy to the Somali peace and reconciliation talks comes at a crucial stage of the talks.

The previous mediator, Elijah Mwangale, was not popular among delegates at the peace talks, taking place in the Kenyan town of Eldoret. In a letter to Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki, they accused the mediator of being a dictator and demanded his removal.

Speaking just before his dismissal, Mr. Mwangale blamed his difficulties on disagreements among the more than 20 Somali leaders at the talks. "There are inherent weaknesses in the whole process based on the assumption that there would be easy acceptance of each other in terms of the leadership that is in Eldoret. So, whatever I do and I believe whatever any other chairman does after I leave, if I do, they will face the same problems," Mr. Mwangale said.

Analysts say it will clearly take more than the appointment of a new mediator to salvage the talks. Over the last couple of weeks, several warlords have walked out, complaining that too little progress was being made.

The talks, which have been going on for three months now, have become bogged down in disagreements over participation. Some 900 Somali delegates turned up when just 300 were expected.

This has put the Kenyan government, which is paying the delegates bills, under an enormous financial strain. The hotels in Eldoret are threatening to evict the delegates if the government does not settle its accounts.

Kenyan Foreign Minister Kalonzo Musyoka has pleaded with the hotels to give the government more time to find the money. "This minister wishes to urge the hotels not to throw out those delegates. In the spirit of being Kenyans I want to urge them to persevere for the time being," Mr. Musyoka said.

Somalia has had no central government since 1991 when President Mohammed Siad Barre was ousted. This is the 14th time that peace talks have been convened to try to restore order to the Horn of Africa country, which is ruled by rival warlords.

The new mediator, Mr. Kiplagat, a former Kenyan Ambassador to Britain and France and Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is widely-respected as a regional peacemaker. He has been deeply involved in the Sudanese peace process and heads the Africa Peace Forum, a regional body working towards ending the myriad conflicts in the Horn of Africa.

Despite chaos at Somalia peace talks, there is hope for a deal.

ELDORET,KENYA JAN 21 2003-The peace talks unfolding here aimed at ending Somalia's long civil war have turned as chaotic as the country itself.
.

Warlords are trying to remove the mediator. Hotels are threatening to evict delegates over unpaid bills. The police were recently ordered to expel the many Somalis who arrived without invitations.

.
The negotiations, now in their fourth month, were troubled from the start.
.

Hundreds of extra delegates showed up in October, prompting a brisk sale in bogus credentials. There have been walkouts, shouting matches and a protest by an unpaid hotel during Ramadan that left delegates from the largely Muslim country who had been fasting all day unfed.
.

"The tragedy of it all is that it's probably better positioned than any conference in the past to accomplish something," said one of the handful of Western diplomats tracking the negotiations. "I wouldn't say it's hopeless, although it certainly looks hopeless when you're there."
.

Somalia looks just as troubled. It has no national government to speak of, a state of limbo that has existed for a dozen years.
.

Although most Somalis are desperate for an end to more than a decade of anarchy, they still associate more with clan than country.
.

On Friday, the United Nations condemned a series of killings of children and kidnappings in Somalia, where gunmen have killed several schoolchildren in attacks on buses in the last month.

.
The United States ignored Somalia in the years after 1993, when 18 American soldiers were killed in an aid mission that went awry.
.

But Somalia's importance to the West has grown with the onset of the American-led campaign against terrorism. Somalia's long coastline, porous borders and strategic location just across the Gulf of Aden from Yemen, not to mention its lack of a central government, make it an ideal breeding ground for militants.
.

The Americans have been monitoring the talks, which have offered some slivers of hope despite the confusion.
.

These talks have attracted more of the important Somali players than any of the dozen or so past peace conferences convened since 1991, when the dictatorship of Mohammed Siad Barre was overthrown.
.

The Eldoret talks also have made some tangible progress, such as an agreement to cease hostilities, albeit one that has been repeatedly violated. Now, the talks are getting down to the basics of what a united Somalia would look like.
.

Organizers say they expect a final plan to emerge this year, although the process has been slow.

.
"It's getting frustrating," said Mohammed Sheik Gabiou, a Somali constitutional law expert who has been involved in past efforts to bring order to the country.
.

"Somalis like to talk and talk and talk, even when they don't know what they're talking about," he said.
.

Kenya, Ethiopia and Djibouti, Somalia's neighbors, are sponsoring the talks through an organization known as the Intergovernmental Authority on Development.
.

The European Union, the United States and others are providing financing, although they have withheld some funds recently as the talks have spiraled out of control.
.

Numerous hotels have not been paid for many of their costs. To protest, the management of the main conference site, the Sirikwa Hotel, in late November closed the buffet that Somalis descend on every evening. The Kenyan Foreign Ministry was forced to intervene to get it reopened.
.

Recently, some warlords tried to replace the Kenyan mediator, Elijah Mwangale, accusing him of repeatedly changing the official number of delegates, now set at 396.
.

The last Somali peace talks with some success were held in 2000 in Djibouti. The result was a transitional government, including a president, Abdikassim Salad Hassan, and a 245-member assembly, although most of the warlords boycotted the talks and worked to undermine the result.
.

That transitional body, which has controlled pockets of Mogadishu but little else, formally will dissolve in August. In the north, Somaliland and Puntland have elected their own leaders. In the rest of the country, warlords continue to fight for turf.
.

Despite the broad representation at the Eldoret conference, officials from the self-proclaimed Republic of Somaliland have boycotted the talks, focusing instead on their own elections.
.

Frustrated warlords also have begun to go back to Mogadishu, leaving no indication of whether they will return.
.

But the many Somalis who remain in Eldoret are trying to agree on a loose federalist structure that balances the country's many clans.
.

"We're making progress," said Awad Ahmed Ashara, a minister in the breakaway Puntland government. He and others want the rest of the world, especially the Americans, to join the give-and-take in Eldoret.
.

"We feel the Americans are reluctant to get involved," Ashara said. "They are worried about Somalia being a haven for terrorists, but they're not helping the process. We'd like to hear something from the White House."

Back to Start of Article ELDORET, Kenya The peace talks unfolding here aimed at ending Somalia's long civil war have turned as chaotic as the country itself.
.

Warlords are trying to remove the mediator. Hotels are threatening to evict delegates over unpaid bills. The police were recently ordered to expel the many Somalis who arrived without invitations.
.

The negotiations, now in their fourth month, were troubled from the start.
.

Hundreds of extra delegates showed up in October, prompting a brisk sale in bogus credentials. There have been walkouts, shouting matches and a protest by an unpaid hotel during Ramadan that left delegates from the largely Muslim country who had been fasting all day unfed.
.

"The tragedy of it all is that it's probably better positioned than any conference in the past to accomplish something," said one of the handful of Western diplomats tracking the negotiations. "I wouldn't say it's hopeless, although it certainly looks hopeless when you're there."
.

Somalia looks just as troubled. It has no national government to speak of, a state of limbo that has existed for a dozen years.
.

Although most Somalis are desperate for an end to more than a decade of anarchy, they still associate more with clan than country.
.

On Friday, the United Nations condemned a series of killings of children and kidnappings in Somalia, where gunmen have killed several schoolchildren in attacks on buses in the last month.
.

The United States ignored Somalia in the years after 1993, when 18 American soldiers were killed in an aid mission that went awry.
.

But Somalia's importance to the West has grown with the onset of the American-led campaign against terrorism. Somalia's long coastline, porous borders and strategic location just across the Gulf of Aden from Yemen, not to mention its lack of a central government, make it an ideal breeding ground for militants.
.

The Americans have been monitoring the talks, which have offered some slivers of hope despite the confusion.
.

These talks have attracted more of the important Somali players than any of the dozen or so past peace conferences convened since 1991, when the dictatorship of Mohammed Siad Barre was overthrown.
.

The Eldoret talks also have made some tangible progress, such as an agreement to cease hostilities, albeit one that has been repeatedly violated. Now, the talks are getting down to the basics of what a united Somalia would look like.
.

Organizers say they expect a final plan to emerge this year, although the process has been slow.

.
"It's getting frustrating," said Mohammed Sheik Gabiou, a Somali constitutional law expert who has been involved in past efforts to bring order to the country.
.

"Somalis like to talk and talk and talk, even when they don't know what they're talking about," he said.
.

Kenya, Ethiopia and Djibouti, Somalia's neighbors, are sponsoring the talks through an organization known as the Intergovernmental Authority on Development.
.

The European Union, the United States and others are providing financing, although they have withheld some funds recently as the talks have spiraled out of control.
.

Numerous hotels have not been paid for many of their costs. To protest, the management of the main conference site, the Sirikwa Hotel, in late November closed the buffet that Somalis descend on every evening. The Kenyan Foreign Ministry was forced to intervene to get it reopened.
.

Recently, some warlords tried to replace the Kenyan mediator, Elijah Mwangale, accusing him of repeatedly changing the official number of delegates, now set at 396.
.

The last Somali peace talks with some success were held in 2000 in Djibouti. The result was a transitional government, including a president, Abdikassim Salad Hassan, and a 245-member assembly, although most of the warlords boycotted the talks and worked to undermine the result.
.

That transitional body, which has controlled pockets of Mogadishu but little else, formally will dissolve in August. In the north, Somaliland and Puntland have elected their own leaders. In the rest of the country, warlords continue to fight for turf.
.

Despite the broad representation at the Eldoret conference, officials from the self-proclaimed Republic of Somaliland have boycotted the talks, focusing instead on their own elections.
.

Frustrated warlords also have begun to go back to Mogadishu, leaving no indication of whether they will return.
.

But the many Somalis who remain in Eldoret are trying to agree on a loose federalist structure that balances the country's many clans.
.

"We're making progress," said Awad Ahmed Ashara, a minister in the breakaway Puntland government. He and others want the rest of the world, especially the Americans, to join the give-and-take in Eldoret.
.

"We feel the Americans are reluctant to get involved," Ashara said. "They are worried about Somalia being a haven for terrorists, but they're not helping the process. We'd like to hear something from the White House." ELDORET, Kenya The peace talks unfolding here aimed at ending Somalia's long civil war have turned as chaotic as the country itself.
.

Warlords are trying to remove the mediator. Hotels are threatening to evict delegates over unpaid bills. The police were recently ordered to expel the many Somalis who arrived without invitations.
.

The negotiations, now in their fourth month, were troubled from the start.
.

Hundreds of extra delegates showed up in October, prompting a brisk sale in bogus credentials. There have been walkouts, shouting matches and a protest by an unpaid hotel during Ramadan that left delegates from the largely Muslim country who had been fasting all day unfed.
.

"The tragedy of it all is that it's probably better positioned than any conference in the past to accomplish something," said one of the handful of Western diplomats tracking the negotiations. "I wouldn't say it's hopeless, although it certainly looks hopeless when you're there."
.

Somalia looks just as troubled. It has no national government to speak of, a state of limbo that has existed for a dozen years.
.
Instead, heavily armed warlords rule by brute force, a throwback to medieval times.
.

Although most Somalis are desperate for an end to more than a decade of anarchy, they still associate more with clan than country.
.

On Friday, the United Nations condemned a series of killings of children and kidnappings in Somalia, where gunmen have killed several schoolchildren in attacks on buses in the last month.
.

The United States ignored Somalia in the years after 1993, when 18 American soldiers were killed in an aid mission that went awry.
.

But Somalia's importance to the West has grown with the onset of the American-led campaign against terrorism. Somalia's long coastline, porous borders and strategic location just across the Gulf of Aden from Yemen, not to mention its lack of a central government, make it an ideal breeding ground for militants.
.

The Americans have been monitoring the talks, which have offered some slivers of hope despite the confusion.
.

These talks have attracted more of the important Somali players than any of the dozen or so past peace conferences convened since 1991, when the dictatorship of Mohammed Siad Barre was overthrown.
.

The Eldoret talks also have made some tangible progress, such as an agreement to cease hostilities, albeit one that has been repeatedly violated. Now, the talks are getting down to the basics of what a united Somalia would look like.
.

Organizers say they expect a final plan to emerge this year, although the process has been slow.
.

"It's getting frustrating," said Mohammed Sheik Gabiou, a Somali constitutional law expert who has been involved in past efforts to bring order to the country.
.

"Somalis like to talk and talk and talk, even when they don't know what they're talking about," he said.
.

Kenya, Ethiopia and Djibouti, Somalia's neighbors, are sponsoring the talks through an organization known as the Intergovernmental Authority on Development.
.

The European Union, the United States and others are providing financing, although they have withheld some funds recently as the talks have spiraled out of control.
.

Numerous hotels have not been paid for many of their costs. To protest, the management of the main conference site, the Sirikwa Hotel, in late November closed the buffet that Somalis descend on every evening. The Kenyan Foreign Ministry was forced to intervene to get it reopened.
.

Recently, some warlords tried to replace the Kenyan mediator, Elijah Mwangale, accusing him of repeatedly changing the official number of delegates, now set at 396.
.

The last Somali peace talks with some success were held in 2000 in Djibouti. The result was a transitional government, including a president, Abdikassim Salad Hassan, and a 245-member assembly, although most of the warlords boycotted the talks and worked to undermine the result.
.

That transitional body, which has controlled pockets of Mogadishu but little else, formally will dissolve in August. In the north, Somaliland and Puntland have elected their own leaders. In the rest of the country, warlords continue to fight for turf.
.

Despite the broad representation at the Eldoret conference, officials from the self-proclaimed Republic of Somaliland have boycotted the talks, focusing instead on their own elections.
.

Frustrated warlords also have begun to go back to Mogadishu, leaving no indication of whether they will return.
.

But the many Somalis who remain in Eldoret are trying to agree on a loose federalist structure that balances the country's many clans.
.

"We're making progress," said Awad Ahmed Ashara, a minister in the breakaway Puntland government. He and others want the rest of the world, especially the Americans, to join the give-and-take in Eldoret.

.
"We feel the Americans are reluctant to get involved," Ashara said. "They are worried about Somalia being a haven for terrorists, but they're not helping the process. We'd like to hear something from the White House." ELDORET, Kenya The peace talks unfolding here aimed at ending Somalia's long civil war have turned as chaotic as the country itself.

Warlords are trying to remove the mediator. Hotels are threatening to evict delegates over unpaid bills. The police were recently ordered to expel the many Somalis who arrived without invitations.

The negotiations, now in their fourth month, were troubled from the start.

Hundreds of extra delegates showed up in October, prompting a brisk sale in bogus credentials. There have been walkouts, shouting matches and a protest by an unpaid hotel during Ramadan that left delegates from the largely Muslim country who had been fasting all day unfed.

"The tragedy of it all is that it's probably better positioned than any conference in the past to accomplish something," said one of the handful of Western diplomats tracking the negotiations. "I wouldn't say it's hopeless, although it certainly looks hopeless when you're there."